A fingernail light system of this kind is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,541, SHOEMAKER/CONAIR. This system has a column-like support arm 5, which can be secured for instance to a tabletop with a clamping screw 7. A housing 3 of circular outer contour is located on the end of this support arm 5.
On its underside, that is, the side oriented toward the tabletop or bottom plate of the support arm, the housing 3 has an introduction opening 11 into which a plate-like support body or handle 15, centrally secured on a telescoping shaft 14, is movable and from which it can be removed. An annular irradiation lamp 21, defining a closed circle, is secured in the housing, centered on telescoping shaft 14. The support body or handle 15, which is quite flat, in the form of a plate, has notches or grooves 17 on its outer periphery that serve to position a hand grasping the plate 15. For irradiating the fingernails, the hand grips the periphery of the support body from below, in such a way that the end joints of the fingers rest on the top of the support body, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 of the patent. In this position, the fingernails are horizontally aligned, and point in the direction of the support arm or shaft 14 located in the center of the plate. Depending on the length of the fingernails, the fingernails extend as far as the support arm 14. The plate 15 grasped in this way is then moved into the housing into an upper position, guided on the support arm 14. The radiation emitted by the irradiation lamp 21, which extends with its axis slightly above the top of the support plate 15, is reflected by the upper region 25 of the housing 3 and an additional reflector 27 onto the fingers and onto the fingernails that are to be cured. Once the irradiation is finished, the plate 15 can be pulled downward back out of the housing again.
Another design for a fingernail light system is known from German Utility Model DE-GM No. 85 13 789, NK-OPTIK GmbH. This system has a support plate with a plurality of low-pressure fluorescent tubes (2a-2f) that extend parallel to one another in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the housing and form a tunnel.
Technical Bulletin No. 7070, entitled "LEE UV NAILS", of Lee Pharmaceuticals, in South El Monte, California, published in 1975, describes another light system for curing artificial nail replacements; in its basic concept, it is similar in design to the system of German Utility Model DE-GM No. 85 13 789. In this system, the hand that is to be irradiated is thrust under the light source through a slit in the housing wall.
Another system for curing photocuring plastics on fingernails is known from German Utility Model DE-GM No. 86 09 293, Desonic-Kunststoff GmbH. This system is equipped with a plurality of elongated UV light sources, in a particular embodiment being four in number, arranged to form a tunnel; in its structure, this system is identical to the system known from German Utility Model DE-GM No. 85 13 789. The housing of this system can be pivoted upward about a horizontal rear axis 3.
Finally, the advertising brochure entitled "TAMI NAIL LIGHT SYSTEM LICHTHARTENDES CEL-SYSTEM FUR DIE FINGERNAGELKOSMETIK" ["TAMI NAIL LIGHT SYSTEM, PHOTOHARDENING GEL SYSTEMS FOR COSMETIC FINGERNAILS"] of the firm of TAMARA KOSMETIK, 8000 Munich, Federal Republic of Germany, shows a light system that in its external design is equivalent to the system of German Utility Model DE-GM No. 86 09 293.
The above-discussed systems are required in order to cure what are known as tips, which are placed on short or broken-off fingernails and coated with UV-hardening plastics. For an artificial fingernail, tips up to 5 cm in length are used. The emplaced tip, which ends on top of a natural fingernail, must be coated afterward to equalize the levels of the tip and the nail. In this process, a plastic composition is repeatedly applied and repeatedly cured. Only after the emplaced fingernails have been coated are they shortened to the desired length and, normally, polished.